“Six”

We went to see Six at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. I knew quite a few of the songs, but was still a bit unsure of what to expect.

The show features the six wives of England’s King Henry VIII, who are forming a rock band and trying to choose a leader. They remind the audience of the order of how their tenures as Queen ended (Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived), then spend most of the remainder of the show informing the audience of their story, why they should be the leader, and why the other Queens didn’t have it so bad.

Catherine of Aragon is first. She was married to Henry for about 24 years but “only” produced a daughter (Mary I), no sons. She was divorced on the premise that according to the rules of the Catholic Church at the time, she should never have been allowed to marry Henry in the first place. The Pope disagreed, so Henry formed a new religion, divorced Catherine, and married Anne Boleyn. After giving birth to a daughter (who later became Elizabeth I), Anne was beheaded, the unfortunate fact of which she spends the remainder of the show humorously reminding the other Queens (and the audience). Jane Seymore was third; she died in child birth. She claims to be Henry’s favorite, as she was the only one to produce a son (Edward VI). Anne of Cleaves was next. Henry saw a painting of her and wanted to marry her immediately. When he met her, however, he found that she didn’t live up to her picture (beginnings of social media?) and wouldn’t have anything to do with her. Fifth was Katherine Howard, who was beheaded for supposed infidelity. Catherine Parr outlived the King.

So much for the brief history lesson.

The performances were strong, the costumes were amazing, the lights were fantastic. I don’t usually give standing ovations I feel they are overused and should be reserved for over-the-top outstanding productions. I was one of the first to stand for this show. As amazing as the show was, however, my ovation wasn’t for the production values. Well, not exclusively.

See, when it came to be Catherine Par’s turn to tell Her Story, she can’t do it. She is upset that they have spent the show cutting each other down. She seems to think that it would be better to stand together and tell their story as a team.

That touched me deep. We, as humans, as women, spend entirely too much time giving in to petty jealousy, cutting each other down in a vain attempt to raise ourselves higher. Our strength, our power, lies in unity, in joining together and building each other up. We can be, we can become, so much more that way.

Find them. Find the women who support you, who build you up, who help you to become more than you ever knew you could be. These people are your sisters. Find them. Hold them tight. Build them up. Be….more. As one. Together.

I’ll stand up for that any day.

Peace,
Kathie